This application is related to the following pending applications being concurrently filed herewith and assigned to the assignee of the present invention:
This invention relates in general to an air conditioning unit and more specifically to a rooftop air conditioning unit for a vehicle such as a bus.
The most common approach for air conditioning the interior of a bus is to mount the air conditioning components on the roof of the vehicle. It has been the common practice in the industry to locate the compressor for the unit in the vehicle motor compartment so that it can be driven directly from the engine. The compressor, in turn, must be connected to the air conditioning unit by means of refrigerant supply and return lines. This requires running an extensive amount of piping through the bus between the engine compartment and air conditioner.
in existing bus air conditioning units, 24 V DC double radial blowers are commonly used to blow the supply air stream into the vehicle. The blower assembly contains the blower motor, the blower housing and the blower wheel. The complete assembly is mounted to the evaporator housing. To create the required supply air flow, multiple small double radial blowers are used with multiple small DC motors. The number of blower motors and wiring add to the cost of the system, and present a problem with respect to serviceability and accessability of the blower motors because of their placement in the system.
It is therefor an object of the present invention to provide an improved air conditioning unit that is mounted upon the roof of a bus or other similar type of vehicle.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved air blower design for an air conditioning unit that is mounted upon the roof of a bus.
It is another object of the present invention to reduce the number of blower motors and wiring in a low profile air conditioning unit that is mounted upon the roof of a bus.
An other object of the present invention is to provide for an increase in efficiency by improving the air flow into a radial blower housing for a rooftop air conditioning unit of a vehicle.
These and other objects of the present invention are attained by a compact rooftop air conditioning unit for a bus or similar type vehicle that contains an electrical driven compressor and an inverter for regulating the electrical input to the electrical components contained within the unit. The evaporator coil of the unit is mounted in front of the condenser coil and a plurality of cylindrical blowers are mounted adjacent the evaporator coil upon a horizontally disposed shaft which, in turn, is rotated by an electrical motor. A drip pan is positioned beneath the evaporator coil and is arranged to pass the collected condensate into the sump of the pump housing through an inlet port.
In the present invention a single blower motor is mounted on the side of the unit. This blower motor drives an elongated blower shaft, which is supported through a shaft bearing mounted at its end. A plurality of blower wheels are directly mounted to, and driven by the blower shaft.